The citizens of Spencer County have done it again. I thought I would never write another letter to the editor again concerning Main Street’s Christmas Home Tour. But here I am. I found the secret to traveling the tour was in a 25-person van filled almost to capacity. It was a treat to enjoy the company of such pleasant and enjoyable people.

As a child, the best part of Christmas morning typically was waking up, racing downstairs and standing with eyes wide open looking at all the toys and presents Santa left under the tree.

Certainly as adults, there’s still a thrill that comes from receiving a present and the anticipation that comes from unwrapping and opening the box. However, most of us have discovered that what really puts a smile on our faces is being able to make others happy by our own giving.

Senior citizens who live in Jefferson and surrounding Kentucky counties are encouraged to take a brief survey online or over the phone to help analyze social service needs for older adults and individuals with disabilities.

For the second year, the University of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging will conduct a community needs assessment on behalf of the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency (KIPDA).

Last week, we at The Spencer Magnet turned back the clock as we took a look back at 150 years of covering the news in Spencer County. Our graphic designer, Jeff Sopland, did a lot of the tedious legwork of putting together many of the pages of the special section and researching old issues. Both Landmark and The Magnet were pleased with how it turned out. Much of the credit goes to Jeff.

When I was in the fourth grade, I climbed onto a yellow school bus near Gilman Avenue in St. Matthews and saw an armed soldier at the front of the bus. It was early September of 1975 and Louisville was embroiled in a huge controversy over forced busing that would send students miles away from their neighborhood schools in a rushed effort to desegregate public education.

WLEX weather anchor Bill Meck was no doubt the most interesting speaker at this year’s Kentucky Public Retirees’ Annual Conference in Frankfort.

Since I didn’t receive an invitation to this glorious affair, I’m not privy to what Meck, a storm chaser who once created “Danger From the Sky,” an award-winning documentary on severe weather, said that might relate his illustrious career forecasting weather patterns to the clashing of budget realities with promises – real and perceived – made to Kentucky’s public pensioners.

Have you ever gotten the feeling that Christmas has become something that it was never meant to be? We’re pushed to buy more and more, bigger and better, sometimes turning family gatherings into giving competitions. We’re decking the halls alright. In fact, special days that revolve around buying— Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday—outnumber the big day itself.

The Spencer Magnet has reached an important milestone this year. The newspaper is celebrating its Sesquicentennial, and with this accomplishment, we focus much of this week’s edition on ourselves as we revisit our own history in Spencer County.

It seems quite odd to be celebrating ourselves, really. What we are most accustomed to doing is writing about and celebrating the achievements of others, so collating this edition has felt somewhat foreignor.

This week’s edition of The Spencer Magnet is one that many may hang on to because this is the issue in which we commemorate 150 years of recording the local news of the day.

Our community has come a long way in the last century and a half. Sadly, what we see in the political landscape does not bode well for future success. Instead of people working together to move us forward, bickering and downright childish behavior seems to be ruling the day.

Taylorsville Masonic Lodge would like to thank our community for the support of our monthly country ham breakfast.
This breakfast helps us to give back to our community. We help the Back Pack Buddies and have also donated bicycles to our elementary schools encouraging perfect attendance. We have donated to the Sheriff’s Shining Star program and our lodge helps with the Angel Tree in our community. The breakfast we have in December earmarks all the proceeds toward the Angel Tree.

Gov. Matt Bevin called on the Kentucky House to “censure and remove” lawmakers involved in a secret sexual harassment settlement if they continue to ignore his demands that they resign from the Legislature.

Calling the scandal “cancer in our legislative body,” the governor increased pressure on lawmakers in forceful remarks made at Saturday’s Republican State Central Committee meeting in Frankfort.

Candidates must examine
their motives
It’s election season and hats are getting tossed into the ring like some two-bit carnival game. That’s not to diminish the seriousness behind the decision many are making to seek public office, but it is somewhat fitting because of the circus that small town politics often becomes.

It’s a question that begs an answer in the wake of so many men in the public eye being accused of acting boorishly, and even criminally toward women.

It seems we can’t turn on the news without hearing of a woman, or in many cases, multiple women, bringing allegations of misconduct toward politicians, entertainers or other men in the public eye. In many cases, there’s strong evidence, even photographs or tapes to convict the accused.

The Commonwealth, along with many other states across this nation, is struggling to find highly-skilled workers to fill scores of job in the manufacturing, health care, agriculture, and trade industries such as electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and telecommunications.

As Christmas draws near, Kentuckians gear up for the shopping season. Many shoppers plan their Thanksgiving weekend around Black Friday advertisements while others scope the latest online deals for Cyber Monday.

November is National Adoption Month, and though the monthlong observance is an important conversation starter, it can’t fully convey the ongoing and unmet needs of children searching for their forever homes. During this season of giving and gratitude, the truth is that more than 7,000 kids in Kentucky will spend the holidays in the care of someone other than their family of origin.